Istanford beats the boys in Arlington Classic

Istanford is the fourth filly to win the Arlington Classic, but the first

since the race was moved to the turf in 1994. The previous filly winners

were Tosmah (1964), But Why Not (1947) and Twilight Tear (1944), all of whom

were named divisional champion. Tosmah and Twilight Tear are both Hall of Fame

inductees.

Istanford races for the partnership of Ike and Dawn

Thrash, and Sam and Janet Alley. She's trained by Michael Stidham.

"We didn't have a lot of options for a filly race, so we thought 'let's just

keep her here and run out of her own stall'," Stidham explained. "I've run in

this race a few times and I feel it's the easiest of the three races (in the

Mid-America Triple). Our filly had been running good and had been beaten by some

pretty good fillies in her last two losses (the Ashland and Edgewood). We felt

fairly confident that we had a chance in the race. Mr. Thrash and I talked about

it and we decided to go for it."

Long On Value bested 9-5 favorite Afortable by three parts of a length for

second, with Chief Barker another half-length back in fourth. The order of

finish was completed by Tiger Bourbon, Rankshasprivileges, Solitary Ranger, and

Ry's the Man.

The Arlington Classic was the first stakes win for the daughter of Istan, who

captured two of three starts as a juvenile including a five-length debut score

over the Arlington turf. Fifth in the Arlington-Washington Lassie in her next

start, she concluded her campaign with a 2 3/4-length allowance win over the

turf at Fair Grounds.

A distant trailer in the Silverbulletday on dirt at Fair Grounds, Istanford

next ran second in the Florida Oaks on turf at Tampa Bay Downs before finishing

11th in the Ashland at Keeneland on Polytrack. She entered the Classic off a

second-place finish in the Edgewood on the Churchill Downs turf. Her record now

stands at 8-3-2-0, $207,246.

Bred in Florida by Hardacre Farm, Istanford was a $25,000 OBS August

yearling. She was reared by Aerocat, a daughter of Tale of the Cat. This female

family has also produced the multiple Grade 3-winning sprinter Semaphore Man.

Bet Horseracing Free Online at TwinSpires.com